Amelia Christnot is an Oglala Lakota, Kanien'kehá:ka Haudenosaunee and Métis Navy brat who settled in the wilds of Northern Maine. A member of the Indigenous Journalists Association, she considers herself another proud Maineiac.
When parents divorce and remarry, their children can gain new family members. But a relationship with a parent isn’t a guarantee of a relationship with their child—especially if the child is an adult when their parent remarries. Probably the worst thing a new person in the family can do to get closer to their spouse’s […] More
Bad tattoo or tattoo regret forums always seem to include plenty of stories of people adding a significant other’s name on their body, then not staying with that person and needing to have it covered up or removed. But what if the tattoo is for a love lost to death? The person with the tattoo […] More
Marrying into a family may require adding new traditions to remain friendly with your in-laws. Outright rejecting them is certainly within a person’s rights, but then they can’t be surprised if they’re unpopular with their in-laws. A woman married for eight months turned to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit for feedback after conflict […] More
Ah, the joys of owning a garage. Originally added to homes to store vehicles—replacing carriage houses and stables for horses—many become spots to store “stuff.” And it’s not always the garage owner’s stuff. Adult children, extended family, and friends can all end up taking up space in a person’s garage. Getting anything stored in a […] More
There are moments we hope to share with our family, friends, and loved ones. Either as the center of the celebration or in support of the people we care about. When we’re excluded from such events, the sting of disappointment and rejection can have a lasting effect. We might question if we’re as close to […] More
Kashering is the process of purifying utensils and kitchen appliances, fixtures, and surfaces to make them suitable for kosher (Jewish dietary law) food preparation. One kosher rule requires meat and dairy not be eaten together. But it also requires the same utensils and appliances can’t be used for both meat and dairy. Separate dishes, sinks, […] More
Benjamin Franklin, under his Poor Richard pseudonym, advised “neither a borrower nor a lender be.” But sometimes it’s inevitable—we all need a little help from time to time. However borrowers need to make sure they respect the people they borrow from. Bad borrowing etiquette can destroy relationships with friends, family, and significant others. A woman […] More
Keepsake is a term meaning “a small item kept in memory of the person who gave it or originally owned it” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. They may nog be worth much monetarily. They may even be worthless. But they’re cherished for the memories they invoke. Keepsakes can be especially important if the person […] More
A great resume can get your foot in the door, but a bad interview can send a person right back out. An interviewer turned to the “Am I The A**Hole” (AITAH) subReddit for feedback after telling a job seeker to shut up. Similar to AITA, the AITAH subReddit allows posters to ask for advice and […] More
My Mother had pet names for us as infants and toddlers that only got brought up jokingly as we got older. They were kind of silly. But my Sisters and I remember them fondly and sometimes call each other those pet names only our Mother really used. Terms of endearment, when the motive behind them […] More
Pregnancy loss is very painful for any parent hoping and planning for a healthy child. The grieving process can take a long time, even if they’re blessed with a rainbow baby—a child born after a pregnancy loss. One child is not a replacement for the other. But some well-meaning and not-so-well-meaning people place it in […] More
The phrase just a friend when it comes to relationships is something one partner will say to the other about a friend—or sometimes someone who’s secretly more than a friend. But it’s unusual when someone introduces their significant other as just a friend. There’s gotta be a story there… A young man wondering why his […] More
